Initial sync setup guide for OneDrive for Business
What does this guide do?
Get started syncing your documents locally to your machine using OneDrive for Business connecting to your Office 365 Personal or Team Site.
This guide contains information that applies when you use the OneDrive for Business sync client (groove.exe).
Note To determine which OneDrive sync client you're using, see Which OneDrive sync client am I using?
Who is it for?
Users who want to set up OneDrive for Business for the initial sync.
How does it work?
We’ll begin by asking you the task you want to do. Then we’ll take you through a series of steps that are specific to your situation.
Estimated time of completion:
10-15 minutes.
Getting started
Get started syncing your documents locally to your machine using OneDrive for Business connecting to your Office 365 Personal or Team Site. OneDrive for Business is formerly known as SkyDrive Pro.
Confirm you are troubleshooting OneDrive for Business provided with your Office 365 subscription, not OneDrive.
Note: If you need help with OneDrive or want to learn about the differences between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business, click the "I want to know the differences between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business" option.
What do you want to do?
Getting started
Get started syncing your documents locally to your machine using OneDrive for Business connecting to your Office 365 Personal or Team Site. OneDrive for Business is formerly known as SkyDrive Pro.
Confirm you are troubleshooting OneDrive for Business provided with your Office 365 subscription, not OneDrive.
Note: If you need help with OneDrive or want to learn about the differences between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business, click the "I want to know the differences between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business" option.
What do you want to do?
Upgrade your MySite library to OneDrive for Business
The OneDrive for Business sync client only syncs SharePoint 2013 sites. It will not sync a SharePoint 2010 site. Depending on the age of your Office 365 site, your site collection may need to be updated to 2013 for you to use OneDrive for Business successfully.
Visit your MySite or Personal Site. If you see a notification banner at the top of the SharePoint site, click the link to upgrade.
To learn more about upgrading your site collection to SharePoint Online 2013, follow these steps:
- Check the health state of your site collection (recommended)
- Create an evaluation site to preview the differences between versions (optional)
- Begin the upgrade with the MySite Host (recommended)
- Start the actual upgrade (required)
Once you upgrade the MySite host, users can upgrade and customize their individual MySites/OneDrive for Business sites in order to start enjoying the new features. Be advised that the process of updating individual MySites is not automatic, and users will have to add their own themes or other customizations regardless of what you applied on the MySite host.
Did this solve your problem?
Install the OneDrive for Business sync client
- Looking for OneDrive for Business to download and install it? Download OneDrive for Business for Windows.
- Want to use OneDrive for Business on a mobile device or tablet? Windows 8 modern app and iOS app can be located here.
If you have a Mac or a Linux machine, we do not have an OneDrive for Business client at this time. As an alternative to the OneDrive for Business sync client, you can use the browser to view and modify files in your library.
To check if the product is installed, look for it in applications.
- On Windows 8, swipe in from the lower right hand corner, click the Search charm, and type OneDrive for Business in the search field.
- On earlier versions of Windows, Click the Windows Start button, and then type OneDrive for Business into the Search field. OneDrive for Business should be under Programs.
If your Office 2013 product does not include OneDrive for Business, you can download a free Click-to-Run version of OneDrive for Business to supplement it. Click-to-Run is a dynamic installation that is self-updating, and should be correct for most cases.
Follow these guidelines:
- If your Office edition includes OneDrive for Business, add it from there, and update it as you update other Office Programs.
- In all other cases, install from here. When selecting a version to download, be sure to match your installed Office edition for language and type (32-bit or 64-bit).
To add OneDrive for Business from an Office product that includes it, follow these steps:
- From Control Panel, open Programs and Features.
- Under Uninstall or change a program, find your Office 2013 edition and click to select it.
- Click Change, click Add or Remove Features, and then click Continue.
- Next to Microsoft OneDrive for Business, select Run from my computer.
A note for advanced users: If you are using the Office 2013 MSI installation format, make sure you use the OneDrive for Business MSI installer. If you’re not sure which version of Office 2013 you have, follow this article to confirm your installation type (in the more information section of the article).
Did this solve your problem?
Sync OneDrive for Business or SharePoint site libraries to your computer
See article Sync OneDrive for Business or site libraries to your computer. This article discusses the following topics:
- Sync your OneDrive for Business library to your computer
- Sync a SharePoint site library to your computer
- Sync a library starting from the OneDrive for Business menu
- Learn about limits on syncing OneDrive for Business and site libraries
Additional Troubleshooting Resources
Troubleshooting
- I’m having sync problems. Please see Solve problems you’re having with the OneDrive for Business sync app.
- What results should I expect when adding, editing, or deleting content in a synced library folder?
- I synced a library, but now I want to change where libraries get synced on my computer.
- I synced a library but I don’t how to find it on my computer. Please see Find libraries you’ve synced on your computer.
- I want to make sure my synced library folders have all current updates from the server. Please see Manually sync a folder you’re syncing with a SharePoint library.
- I want to stop syncing a library.
Limits on syncing OneDrive for Business and site libraries
Note the following limitations related to syncing OneDrive for Business and other site libraries to your computer:
- You can sync up to 20,000 items in your OneDrive for Business library, including folders and files.
- You can sync up to 5,000 items in site libraries, including folders and files.
- In any library, you can upload a file of size up to 2 GB.
Did this solve your problem?
I need help with my Office 365 OneDrive website.
Sorry, we don’t have a guide troubleshooter at this time for the Office 365 OneDrive website. This troubleshooter is for the sync client only. For more help to resolve your issue:
- Use the self-help options on the Office 365 Community website.
- Create a support incident at Microsoft Online Services support. Ask your IT administrator to use the above link to create a new support incident.
Differences between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business
Microsoft offers a personal storage service called OneDrive. OneDrive is formerly known as SkyDrive. OneDrive for Business is formerly known as SkyDrive Pro. The OneDrive service consists of two parts: storage on OneDrive and the OneDrive application. This application is part of Windows 8.1, and available as a free download for other recent versions of Windows. Although the functions provided by the OneDrive service are similar to those provided by Office 365 and OneDrive for Business, they are two distinct systems.
This troubleshooter is for OneDrive for Business. If you need help with OneDrive or the OneDrive client that comes with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, check out the following resources:
- OneDrive FAQ.
- Help from the community. Get answers to your questions in the OneDrive forum.
Fantastic! Your issue was resolved.
We’re glad that your issue is resolved.
Your issue was not resolved.
Sorry, but we cannot resolve this issue by using this guide. For more help to resolve your issue:
- Use the self-help options on the Office 365 Community website.
- Create a support incident at Microsoft Online Services support. Ask your IT administrator to use the above link to create a new support incident.